Choices
by IceDynamiteDragonflyStars
Summary: When Mia is sent by Gutt and Soto to spy on the herd, she never thought she'd actually befriend them. But she soon finds herself trusting them, gradually getting pulled into their crazy world. Soon she is faced with a difficult choice- loyalty or friendship?
1. Chapter 1

**Sup. I'm IceDynamiteDragonflyStars, welcome to my first fanfic. Sorry if it sucks. Anyway, enjoy!**

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><p>Gutt stared at the rising sun from the mast, lost in thought.<p>

This was the day. The day he and the crew got revenge.

They were definitely an odd bunch, his crew. He had found them in different places all over the world, from Asia to the deserts of Australia. Some wanted protection, a few actual revenge. That was what he was here for. Revenge. He had been rescued by his original crew after the siren attack, and had since travelled the seas, trying to find an army to hunt and kill that mammoth and his family.

And he had succeeded. In a week's time, he would be at Switchback Cove, and the whole herd would be begging him to spare their lives. He smirked. It was, to him anyway, a nice thought.

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><p>Mia frowned at the primate dangling from the mast above her. ''Does he always zone out like this?'' The kangaroo next to her shook her head. ''He didn't used ta. It's just since... y'know.''<p>

The short, dark brown molehog nodded. She, and the rest of the crew, had heard the story of the mammoth, how he had taken all the captain owned, including, (though it wasn't ever said to his face) his sanity.

Ever since he was rescued from sirens, he had spent all his days and nights plotting revenge. Horrible tortures that gave Mia herself nightmares. She didn't like to think about it. And the other leader, Soto, was equally horrible and just as bloodthirsty. Mia didn't trust either of them an inch. The only reason she was on the crew was because she needed protection. She would have stayed at home if she had any choice in the matter. But she didn't.

Anyway, the rest of the crew was nice, or at least , except for Jackson and Cara. However, Mia had struck up quite a friendship with the twoyoungest members, Roshan and Adsila. Both were teenagers like herself, and, surprisingly, humans.

Roshan had been found by the shore. He had been banished from his tribe. Apparently, he had been partially raised by animals, and had been able to speak their language ever since. The tribe had only tolerated him because his father was leader. When his father had died in a hunting accident, they'd turned on him, saying he was a witch, a demon. So he had fled.

Adsila, meanwhile, had been raised by animals all her life, as a pirate. She and her crew were on Gutt's ship because their own had run aground. They were trying to get to Switchback Cove, where they could obtain a new one. As a sort of thank-you to Gutt for giving them a lift, they would also be participating in the revenge plot.

''Raz! Mia!'' Mia jumped. She had forgotten they were there. And she was, in general, a jumpy kind of person anyway.

Gutt continued. ''I want you to wake the others. We need to go over the plan again.'' Both nodded, and walked (or hopped, in Raz's case) to the vine ladder that led below deck.

Below deck, it was dark and cool, lit only by a flaming torch on the wall, courtesy of Roshan, who as a human knew how to make fire. It was filled with sleeping bodies and the sound of snoring.

Raz went over to wake her crewmates, and Mia decided to see if she could find Adsila. She did so fairly quickly. Her friend was lying next to George. George was the captain of her crew. He was a large and formidable-looking polar bear with an eyepatch made of a leaf and a twisted jaw that had clearly been broken at some point. Adsila was curled up in a ball like a cat, her face buried in his thick white fur.

Mia smiled at the familiar form of her friend. Tan skin, dark eyes, long nose,thin lips and wild dark hair that looked like it had never been touched with a comb. Come to think of it, it probably hadn't.

Mia gently poked her. ''Addie, wake up.'' Another poke. ''_Adsila...''_

"M' trying to sleep,'' the human mumbled, opening her dark brown eyes.

"Gutt's called a meeting."

''Did he have to call a meeting at the crack of dawn?"

"Apparently."

"Ugh, _Fine_... Let's go wake Roshan.''

Ten minutes later, the crew were all up, sitting on the deck, waiting for Gutt and presumably Soto as he hadn't been below deck. In fact, nobody had seen him.

Mia vaguely wondered where he was.

She was snapped out of her vague wonderings by Gutt and Soto striding onto the deck.

"You're probably wondering why I called this meeting,'' started Gutt. ''Well, Soto and I have been talking. Discussing a strategy. We can't just charge up and attack. I want that filthy mammoth and all his little friends to _suffer._'' He gestured to Soto. "Begin."

The saber smirked. "Well, we're going to do a sort of sneak attack. We're going to try and earn their friendship, then, just as they start to trust us... we _attack_.Obviously, they'll recognise me, my pack and the pirates, so we'll send in Annabeth, Adsila, James, Jackson and Mia. They won't recognise you. I want you to get to know them, then, at night report back to us. Tell us their weaknesses, where they'll be on the day of the attack, etcetera. You'll be posing as travellers who've lost their homes in the Drift. Clear?"

Mia's throat was dry. She really didn't want to hurt anyone. She thought she could just get to Switchback Cove, maybe do a small amount of fighting and leave, but clearly that wouldn't be the case. Her voice came out as a hoarse whisper as she answered. "Clear."


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi, how's life? MASSIVE thank-you to TimberPaw, KaylaDestroyer and Nyxy Maskalina Raccoon for reviewing. I guess I also owe Chicken a small thanks too,** **even**** though it was a prank review from my sister. Anyway, enjoy the chapter! Also, I don't know if I mentioned this in the last chapter, but I don't own Ice Age.**

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><p>Adsila sat at the front of the ship, waiting for the high, grassy cliffs of Switchback Cove. She hadn't been there often, maybe two or three times, and the last time she was there she was only about seven. It was a nice place though, as far as she could remember. Suddenly, a large, dark shape loomed out of the thick fog. North Island. North Island was a tiny island just north of Switchback Cove. Nobody lived there, except for a few crows and rabbits. It was where Squint was from, actually.<p>

The whole island was made of dark rock, with just a few windswept fruit trees.

They were getting closer now. Adsila could hear the _hiss_ of waves on a pebble beach. In the fog, the sheer cliffs of the island had an eerie, ominous look. Adsila shivered, wrapping the deerskin shawl she was wearing around her more tightly.

At least they were on the right track. They'd be at Switchback Cove by midday.

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><p>Mia looked around the deck for Adsila. She'd checked in the hold, but her friend wasn't there. However, she had met the three other animals she would be spying on the herd with, Annabeth, James and Jackson.<p>

Annabeth had been appointed leader by Gutt because she was both the oldest and the best fighter. She was a pretty intimidating saber-toothed-tiger, with pale blonde fur and deep golden eyes the colour of honey. She also had long, sharp teeth and claws. To be honest, Mia was scared to death of her.

Next was James. He was a huge red deer stag, originally from Ireland. He was quite nice, Mia supposed. Friendly. Although she didn't fancy messing with him; those antlers looked pretty lethal.

Lastly, Jackson. Mia didn't trust him at all. He was a mink with greasy jet-black fur and pale grey eyes. He spent more time with Gutt and Soto than anyone else. He was apparently an old friend of the captain. Mia wasn't sure where he was from or when he joined the crew, or why. All she knew was that she didn't like him.

''LAND AHOY!''

Mia gulped. Nearly there. She rushed to the front of the ship to catch her first glimpse of Switchback Cove.

It was just visible through the thick fog, a large landmass. Mia could detect the vague shapes of mountains, and a silhouette which turned out to be a statue as they got closer.

Soon enough, Mia felt a jolt as the ship entered the beach, the bottom having scraped the sandy ground. They had arrived. Flynn and Saphie, the snow leopard first mate from Adsila's crew, lowered the gangplank.

Gutt knuckle-walked over to the five spies, who were standing there unsure what to do. He cleared his throat. ''Okay, you know what to do. We don't know the exact location of the herd, but the island isn't that big and they're pretty recognisable. You'll know them when you see them. You'll come back here and report tomorrow night.'' They nodded. Adsila quickly gave all her crewmates a hug. The seven animals had raised her, and she wouldn't leave without saying goodbye, even if it was just for a day.

The others all walked down the gangplank, which was a big wooden log. Annabeth was in front, Adsila and Mia taking up the rear. They had to wade through the water, but being in the tropics it was reasonably warm, and Adsila held Mia so there weren't any problems. They stepped onto the beach, the first time most of them had been on Switchback Cove.

''Which way shall we go?'' James looked around warily. He didn't like fog. It made him uneasy, as it did with most prey animals. Any predator could be creeping up on you...

''Into the jungle. They wouldn't be at the beach on a day like this.'' Annabeth's voice had a slight Southern drawl to it, but that was the only indicator anybody had of where she was from. ''C'mon. We don't have all day here.''

The sabress padded off into the forest, the others following.

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><p>Mia looked around for any sign of the herd. So far they'd run into a few small rodents, but they didn't speak their language. James had attempted to ask them where they could find the herd, but they'd only given him a melon and left.<p>

It was still very misty. Mia could barely see the trees around her. ''Is fog like this nor-'' she was going to ask Adsila, figuring she knew more about weather than she did, but she was cut off by a shriek from Annabeth.

She quickly jogged up to the front to see what happened, Adsila following. Suddenly James sprang in front of them, blocking them off. The two skidded to a halt. James moved back, letting them see. Annabeth was lying in a shallow ravine, which the two teens would have fallen into as well if James hadn't blocked them.

Annabeth attempted to stand, only to immediately fall over with another cry.

''Can I help you?'' Jackson, Adsila, Mia and James whipped around. A huge, dark brown mammoth was standing behind them. Adsila nodded. ''Our friend's hurt herself.''

"I am not your friend!''

Adsila sighed. ''Our _aquaintance_ has hurt herself. Can you help us?''

''Of course. I'll take you to my herd.'' Mia and Adsila exchanged a look. They'd found the herd! The mammoth gently picked up Annabeth, balancing her on his tusks. ''Come with me.''

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><p><strong>What'cha think? R2R! (remember to review)<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi, me again! Thanks to AJB, TimberPaw and KaylaDestroyer for reviewing. Also thanks to Chicken (a.k.a. my sister) for not prank reviewing me. Also thanks to my best friend, because you didn't prank review me either. So, this is the chapter where the spies meet the herd. And KaylaDestroyer, I had actually not thought about how Squint came to the pirates from North Island, but there's definitely a story in it. I've now thought of a plot and you can expect it to be up either tomorrow or the day after, if anybody's interested. It will be short though, one or two chapters long. Anyway, I haven't magically obtained the rights to Ice Age in the last five days. So no, I don't own it. And as always, enjoy! **

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><p>The mammoth led the others through the misty jungle. ''So,'' he began, trying to make conversation,My name's Manny. I live a few miles away, I can take you to my home, where you can hopefully get help." Adsila smiled. "I'm Adsila. And this is Mia, Annabeth, James and Jackson."<p>

"Nice to meet you. So, where are you guys from?"

"We're all from different places, really."

Manny nodded. "So are my family"

"Your family?"

He nodded. "We met up ages ago, when me and my two friends rescued a human baby." Something about that seemed vaguely familiar to Adsila, but she dismissed it, deciding it wasn't important. Maybe it had been in one of the stories the crew had told her as a kid. Yeah, that was probably it, she decided.

She looked up at the mammoth."So, where are we going?"

"To find my family."

"Okay, why?"

"My friend Sid knows the hyraxes well. They're really skilled healers. If anybody can sort out your friend, they can."

Annabeth glared at him. "They. Are. Not. My. Friends."

"Sure they aren't,'' Manny answered sarcastically. "You _were_ travelling with them." Annabeth rolled her eyes. ''Well, I don't have a say in the matter. And we'd better be there soon, this really isn't comfortable.''

Manny sighed and turned back to Adsila. "So, I thought humans couldn't talk."

"They usually can't. But I was raised by animals my whole life. I grew up like this." Manny nodded, causing Annabeth to growl in pain. The mammoth hastily apologised.

"Sorry."

"You better be. When'll we be there?"

"We're here now.'' Manny gently laid the tigress down on the ground. Mia looked around. The mist was finally clearing. They were standing next to a river. Across the river was a cliff, with several large caves at ground level. You could cross the river by means of a natural bridge made of rock. It was large, big enough for a mammoth to use, easily. Mia figured it was where the mammoth and his 'family' lived.

"Wait here." Manny crossed the bridge with surprising speed for an animal of his size. "SID?'' He hollered into the cave on the far left. It was smallish, probably able to fit two animals at the most.

A yellowish-furred head popped out the entrance. "Manny,'' Mia heard it moan,''I was having a nap.''

"Well, nap time's over. I need you to get your friends. We have an injured saber-toothed tiger and we need them to help her.'' The sloth nodded and waddled out of the cave, along the bridge. He called out a ''Hello'' to Mia and gave Annabeth a nervous wave. The tigress responded with a surly growl.

Manny walked along the bridge back to the five. "He'll be back in a few minutes. So, tell me a bit about yourselves.'' Mia chewed a claw nervously. She had always been a horrible liar. Adsila was too, she knew from experience. On the ship, she had tried to steal Squint's knife, and then lied about not knowing where it was. It hadn't ended well.

James was the one who answered. "Well, we lost our homes in the Continental Drift. We met on an iceberg which we were stranded on. Then we spotted this island and decided to land here. We were trying to find ourselves a home to live in when Annabeth tripped. You know the rest.''

He was surprisingly convincing. Manny appeared to believe him, anyway. Suddenly, Sid stepped between them, followed by five or six little rodents.

The sloth began speaking gibberish and dancing, jumping about and making crazy signs with his hands. The biggest stepped forward. He was so old his fur was turning grey. He also had a staff clutched in his paw. It was made of smooth, dark wood and had a pretty amber stone on the top, stuck on with tree sap.

The rodent hobbled up to Annabeth, closely examining her leg. He started speaking in a bunch of squeaks and body movements. Sid nodded, turning to the tigress. "He says that you've sprained your ankle. You won't be able to walk for a week or so and you have to rest.''

"_A week? _I can't just stay still for that long!"

"You have to, or you won't get better,'' answered the sloth, translating from the hyrax again. Annabeth groaned, resting her head on her paws.

Sid grinned. "Hey, you guys could stay with us! Manny, can they stay? Please?" Manny looked at them. The two teens seem trustworthy, he thought. And the deer. And Annabeth couldn't hurt us if she wanted to, she can't even walk. The mammoth frowned at Jackson. He hadn't heard the mink say a word since they met. Could he even talk? Mink aren't dangerous anyway, he decided.

He turned back to the yellow sloth. "Okay. They can stay.''

''Yay! Hey, when can they meet the herd?"

"Well, they should be back soon.'' The herd were out getting some lunch. Manny had bumped into the spies while foraging for fruit. Sid had slept in, which was why he had been in the cave and not eating.

Manny heard some footsteps approaching through the forest. "Here they come now.''

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><p><strong>So, what did you think? Also, do you like the new cover? I personally like it a lot more than the old one, but that's just me. R2R, people!<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello, it is, at long last, me. I would have updated sooner, but I wasn't feeling very motivated. That and my new obsession with Artemis Fowl was keeping me distracted. I actually tried to write yesterday, but Fanfiction crashed and didn't save. D'arvit. Toffee to anyone who got that reference.**** Anyway, thanks to TimberPaw for reviewing! Also review, reviews are motivation! So please, just press those little buttons on your keyboard, and write a few words. It will only take a few seconds of your life. It won't kill you. I sound like a Christmas charity ad. Maybe it's getting to my head. Shoot, this author's note will probably end up longer than the entire story if I don't shut up. Sorry!**

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><p>Adsila curiously watched the strange group of animals. There was one old purple sloth. Adsila couldn't remember Gutt mentioning her. Maybe she was a relative of Sid's. There was also a short, golden-brown molehog with huge chocolate-coloured eyes. He gave the spies a shy wave, which Adsila returned, and Mia gave him a small smile. The two other mammoths waved and smiled too. They were both female, presumably Manny's mate and daughter. The older one had too possums perched on her head. Adsila thought that was odd, but didn't comment. Finally there were two saber-toothed tigers. Adsila had definitely heard of them. Both traitors. Gutt and Soto had particularly nasty deaths in store for them. The entire herd were staring at the newcomers curiously.<p>

Manny cleared his throat to catch everyone's attention. They all looked up at him expectantly. The mammoth cleared his throat and spoke. "Okay, everyone, these are some guests. I met them in the woods today. The saber has an injured leg, so I decided to help." Sid coughed pointedly. Manny rethought. "The saber has an injured leg, so _me and Sid _decided to help." Sid grinned proudly.

Manny continued. "Any objections or questions?" One of the possums raised a hand, looking at Manny as if he'd just turned into a pixie and started spouting Gnommish*.

"Won't the saber eat us?" Manny rolled his eyes.

"I clearly said that her leg is injured. She can't walk, let alone chase you guys."

"Like I'd _want _to eat you rats," Annabeth muttered under her breath.

"Charming, isn't she?'' Adsila whispered to Mia, smirking.

Manny apparently hadn't heard, as he continued on. "So, we all need to introduce ourselves," he looked at the spies," You want to go first?" they nodded.

Adsila started. "Uhm, hi. My name's Adsila. I'm fifteen years old, and, uh, that's about it. Any questions?" Every hand, trunk and paw went up simultaneously. She randomly pointed at the old sloth.

The sloth smacked her on the head with a cane. "Where'd you learn to talk, huh?"

Adsila winced. That would bruise. "I was raised by animals. They taught me their language. Anything else?"

Everybody's hands, trunks and paws had dropped when she answered the question, so they moved on to Mia."Uh, hi. My name's Mia,'' she started in a tiny, barely audible voice. ''I'm from Europe** originally, but I've lived on the Continent nearest to here for most of my life." Nobody really had any questions, so they moved on to James.

The red deer was a lot more confident. "Hello, I'm James. I was born in Ireland, but I moved in the Drift when I got stuck on an ice floe." He grinned cheerfully at the herd, who grinned back. Adsila could already see James was going to be popular; he was just naturally friendly. Unlike Annabeth, who kept her introduction 'speech' to about ten words.

"My name's Annabeth. I'm from a desert in the continent. Questions?" Nobody had any. Frankly they were quite scared.

Jackson still didn't speak. Adsila wasn't even sure he could. James did his introduction for him. "This is Jackson. To our knowledge, he can't talk, but he could just be _really _antisocial. Because of this we don't know anything about him. Anyway, enough about us. Introduce yourselves."

They started with the older female mammoth. Her name was Ellie, and she seemed quite nice, saying she was pleased to meet the spies and smiling. Adsila and James had grinned back, Mia had given her a shy smile, and Annabeth and Jackson gave her death glares. Ellie's daughter was named Peaches, and the molehog was her friend, Louis. Both were about Adsila and Mia's age and also seemed pretty friendly. The purple sloth was referred to by everyone as Granny, even though Ellie explained that she was only Sid's biological grandmother. She was absolutely crazy. She had already nicknamed everyone, calling Annabeth 'Fluffy'. The look on the tigress's face when she had first been called that was pretty hilarious, actually. She had threatened to the sloth she would ''strangle you with your own intestines'' to which Granny had responded,'' whatever, Fluffy. I'm going to bed. Sidney, carry me to the cave, I don't wanna walk!" despite the cave being only a metre away.

The two posssums were called Crash and Eddie and they were apparently Ellie's brothers. Confusing, but they had promised to explain everything later. Finally, the two saber-toothed tigers were called Diego and Shira. They looked like they might be a couple, but were denying it every time the possums threw a teasing comment at them.

"So," Manny smiled,"that's all of us. Welcome to the herd."

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><p><strong>*Yep, an Artemis Fowl reference. Yay! Pixies are short, cute creatures with cute names. Gnommish is their language.<strong>

**** I know animals wouldn't call it Europe, but what else would I call it?**

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed, R2R, people!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi, me again! So, I've been meaning to update since Monday, but ended up with three Artemis Fowl stories instead. Also, I signed up as a beta reader, and have gotten requests from two people to read for them, and sorting it out has been a little hectic. So, enjoy, and huge thanks to KaylaDestroyer and TimberPaw for reviewing. This is gonna be the fluffy-beach-teenager-bonding chapter. Review and I'll give you a free (virtual) doughnut. Donut for all you Americans. Or is it the other way round..?**

**HEY, GUESS WHAT?! Blue Sky Studios just called and offered me the rights to Ice Age! So I said... jk. They didn't. But you probably guessed that. In short, I own Ice Age no more than I own the USA.**

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><p>Mia woke at about eight a.m. and for a second she couldn't remember where she was. She looked around. She was lying with the other spies in a spare cave about thirty metres downriver. It was quite small, but cosy. She could hear the rushing of water outside. The river. There was a waterfall a little further away, judging by the sound.<p>

The other spies were still asleep, so Mia crept out of the cave to have a look at the river. She liked rivers better than the ocean. You always knew where you were with a river. The sea, however, was huge, empty and dangerous. She walked to the bank, looking over. It was shallow, flowing quickly over the stones. A few large trout were darting about, looking for low-flying insects for breakfast. "Hey." Mia jumped, almost falling into the river. Peaches was standing behind her with Louis.

"Oh, h-hey," she stammered, honestly quite scared of the mammoth's huge size," I was just admiring the river."

"Yeah, it's pretty, right? Anyways, I was wondering if you and Adsila would come down to the beach with us, meet our friends and stuff. I mean, if you're going to be staying here you should probably get to know some of the people, right?"

Mia nodded. "O-okay, I'll go get Adsila."

Adsila was curled up in a ball next to James, snoring quietly. Mia walked over and gently shook her arm. Adsila pulled it back. "Five more minutes, Sonoma." Sonoma was the kiwi healer of Adsila's crew. She was quite caring, for a pirate, and had played a big part in raising Adsila.

Mia persisted in her shaking until her friend's brown eyes finally opened. "What?"

"Peaches wants us to go to the beach to meet her friends."

"Just us?"

"Yep."

"Well, I'm in. When do we leave?"

"Now." The two crept out of the cave, careful not to wake the others. Peaches and Louis were waiting for them.

Peaches grinned. "Alright, follow me. It's this way." She started walking downriver, introducing them to the neighbors as they went. There was a family of fowl, of some sort. Artemis I, his mate Angeline, their older son Artemis II, and their young chicks, Myles and Beckett. There was another few birds living nearby, Holly, who was Artemis II's girlfriend, and two older ones, Julius and Raine. There was also a bearded molehog who popped out of the ground to say hello named Mulch. There were some wildcat siblings too, Domovoi and Juliet. Finally, a horse couple named Foaly and Caballine.*

All their neighbors seemed pretty nice, definitely the sort of people Mia would like to live near. She wouldn't though. Actually, she had never really thought about her future. What would she do after the spy mission was fulfilled? She couldn't live here, that was for sure. The surviving herd would hate her. Mia immiediately pushed away the thought. It wasn't important what the herd thought. It shouldn't be bothering her. So why did it?

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><p>They arrived at the beach early. It was completely deserted. The tide was in, nearly touching the rocks at the end. The path down followed the river, which became the waterfall that Mia could hear earlier, before flowing down the beach to the sea. It was a lovely beach, with bright, tropical turquoise water that merged to azure blue at the horizon. The sand was white and beautifully soft underfoot. Peaches led the way down the sand.<p>

"They said to meet at the west end, by the rockpools. It's this way, come on." Mia followed, admiring the scenery, the smooth rocks, the rainforest, even the ocean, which normally scared her. It was lovely. Mia could see the shape of some mammoths at the end, near some large grey stones.

"Okay," announced Peaches," this is Ethan, Steffie, Katie, Meghan and Con**. Guys, this is Adsila and Mia." They all said hi, Adsila and Ethan fistbumped, and Peaches called a vote on what they should do today. She, Adsila, Ethan, Con and Katie all voted to have a waterfight, so that's what they did. Ethan started it by squirting a trunkful of water at Peaches, who shrieked and immediately retaliated. Con suddenly squirted Steffie from behind, and soon they were all in the water, yelling and laughing, all dripping wet. After about an hour, they decided to dry off and get some breakfast.

"Okay, what'll we get?" asked Peaches, looking around to see if anybody had any ideas. Louis spoke up.

"There's some nut trees nearby. We could go there." Nobody had any objections, so the molehog led the way off the beach to a lovely grove of little trees. Mia reached up and picked a walnut, bashing it off a rock. Nothing happened. She tried a few more times, all to no avail. Louis looked at it.

"Walnut?"

"Yes."

"Those things are impossible to crack, you know that right?"

"Worth a try though, right? My cousin Nord could crack a walnut. I still can't figure it out though."

"Can I try?" Mia wordlessly handed him the nut.

"You won't be able to do it, you know."

"I can. Without using my hands, I can get it open."

"You can't."

"Can." He looked up. "Peaches, could you open this please?" With her mammoth strength, Peaches had it open in seconds. Louis handed it back to Mia. "See, no hands." Mia giggled and took a bite of the nut.

After breakfast, Ethan decided to play a game of crunchball on the beach, using some rocks on either side as goals. Adsila managed to score three times. Mia and Louis mainly sat by the side, not really contributing. It was fun, though. Peaches announced that she, Louis, Adsila and Mia had to go home for lunch.

Mia smiled as they walked back. "That was really fun. Thanks for introducing us to your friends."

Peaches shrugged. "No problem. You guys are part of the herd now."

Mia felt a pang. She eventually had to play a part of these people's deaths. Forcing a smile, she answered. "Thanks."

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><p><strong>* Those are all Ice Age-ised Artemis Fowl characters. I own none of them.<strong>

****Con is that guy who always says "Burn!". I couldn't really get through the chapter without naming him.**

**So, whatcha think? Like? Hate? Either way, I'd like to hear your opinions. REVIEW, PLEASE!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm back! Sorry for the million-year wait, I was in England for Christmas, and now I'm back in school, yadi yada, excuses. Thanks to KaylaDestroyer for reviewing! So, something I've noticed about this fandom is that every story must contain a campfire sing-along. Why? Don't know, but it's awesome, so of course I'm going to do one as well. It's a good plot device.**

**Disclaimer: The song is called 'Ghost'; it's by Ella Henderson. If I owned it I wouldn't have to write a disclaimer.**

**Disclaimer No2: If I owned Ice Age, chances are I wouldn't be sitting at my kitchen table writing stories about my own characters on a borrowed laptop.**

**Disclaimer No3: I don't own any Artemis Fowl references/characters that may pop up.**

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><p>It was twilight by the time the four teenagers got back. The herd was all sitting around a blazing fire, talking about things that had happened that day. Well, Jackson was, per usual, sitting in the shadows saying nothing, and Annabeth was glaring at the ground as if it was personally responsible for every problem she'd ever encountered in life. Mia took a seat between James and Ellie, who had been discussing some incident that had happened with a wildcat earlier when they'd been foraging for food. Mia listened as they told her and the others the story.<p>

Apparently Sid had made a comment on how cute she was. Unfortunately, she had turned out to be an expert in fighting and had taken the sloth out in minutes, much to the amusement of everyone else. Mia chuckled. She had met the cat, Juliet, earlier, and could just see the feisty wildcat wrestling him to the ground.

Manny stood up. "Alright," he said," it's time we gave our new members a proper welcome."

Sid, who was looking rather dejected after his defeat, immediately perked up. "We're having a campfire party?"

"Yes."

"Yay!" Sid grinned, standing up and doing a little tap dance, which unfortunately resulted in him stepping in the campfire. (Neither the sloth nor the fire were harmed.)

"Alright," said Manny," it's only fair that we let our guests sing first. Mia?"

Mia shook her head, blushing as everyone turned and looked at her expectantly. "I don't sing."

"Really?" asked Sid," can't you _try_?"

"I really don't want to."

_"Please?"_

"Sid, I don't like singing in front of people."

"We could all turn our backs and pretend we're not here."

Manny sighed. "Sid, she doesn't have to sing if she doesn't want to. Adsila?"

Adsila shook her head. "No way. I couldn't sing if my life depended on it!"

"Alright. Annabeth?"

"Okay." Everyone stared at her, surprised she agreed so easily. The tigress switched her death glare from the floor to the others. "What? I like singing."

Manny shrugged. "Okay then. Whenever you're ready."

Annabeth took a deep breath and started singing:

_"I keep going to the river to pray_

_'Cause I need something that can wash all the pain_

_And at most_

_I'm sleeping all these demons away_

_But your ghost_

_The ghost of you it keeps me awake_

_My friends had you figured out_

_Yeah they saw what's inside of you_

_Trying to hide in another you_

_But you evil is coming through_

_These guys sitting on the wall_

_They watch every move I make_

_Bright light living in the shade_

_You go hard makes the spirit shake_

_I had to go through hell to prove _

_I'm not insane_

_Had to meet the devil_

_Just to know his name_

_And that's where my love was burning_

_Yeah it's still burning_

_I keep going to the river to pray_

_'Cause I need something that can wash all the pain_

_And at most_

_I'm sleeping all these demons away_

_But your ghost_

_The ghost of you it keeps me awake_

_I keep going to the river to pray_

_'Cause I need something that can wash all the pain_

_And at most_

_I'm sleeping all these demons away_

_But your ghost_

_The ghost of you it keeps me awake_

_Each time that I think you go_

_I turn around and you're creeping in_

_And I let you under my skin_

_'Cause I love living innocent_

_Boy you never told me_

_True love was going to hurt_

_True pain that I don't deserve_

_Truth is that I never learn_

_I keep going to the river to pray _

_'Cause I need something that can wash all the pain _

_And at most _

_I'm sleeping all these demons away_

_But your ghost _

_The ghost of you it keeps me awake_

_I keep going to the river to pray_

_'Cause I need something that can wash all the pain _

_And at most_

_I'm sleeping all these demons away_

_But your ghost_

_The ghost of you it keeps me awake."_

She finished and gave a small bow before lying back down. The whole herd applauded; she had sung beautifully. "Who knew she could do that," whispered Adsila," it was amazing." Mia agreed. The herd sang a bit more, James singing an annoying, catchy song with Sid, Peaches going solo and singing excellently.

Finally everyone toasted acorns to turn them into delicious white fluffy things that Sid called 'popcorn.' As Diego said,"It's nice but it won't catch on." They ended the night with a chorus of 'We Are Family." Mia fell asleep in the spies' cave, only to be woken a few minutes later by Annabeth.

"Come on," she hissed. "We need to report back to Gutt and Soto, remember?" Mia jolted awake.

"O-okay." Annabeth woke the others and they made their way down to the beach. The three-quarter moon glinted against the waves, which gently hissed against the beach. The spies made their way up the shore to the huge iceberg. They were met by Oscar from Soto's pack and Sonoma. Adsila grinned and hugged the kiwi, who smiled and started bombarding her with questions, as parents do. The group made their way back to the ship. Gutt and Soto were on the deck. Gutt gave a decidedly evil vampire smile.

"Ah, there you are at last. Tell me everything."

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><p><strong>Sorry for not updating again. Also, Sonoma will have a bigger part later. As always, enjoy and review!<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello, and ohmygosh I haven't updated in ages. _Ages. _And yes, I feel mildly bad about it. But whatever. For some obscure reason I totally forgot Annabeth had a busted leg and can't go to the beach, so just say she was near Mia while she was sleeping and woke her up from there, and she's not on the ship. 'Kay? 'Kay. **

**Also, massive thanks to KaylaDestroyer for the review!**

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><p>The spies sat in the cabin in front of Gutt and Soto. The cabin was a smallish room lit with a few flaming torches. The walls were made of ice, cut especially thin in a square on one side to make a window, out of which Mia could see miles and miles of open sea, lit by moonlight. Somewhere in the distance a whale spouted. There was a large wooden table, with the captains on one side, spies on the other. The table was strewn with maps on leaves and a few pears. Mia liked pears. The captains were currently questioning James on what he had learned.<p>

As it turned out, James had _way _more information than Mia, Adsila or Jackson. He was able to list when the herd would and wouldn't be around, just from talking to them. Mia was mentally scolding herself for not asking questions. She had been raised by the kind of parents that firmly believed children should be seen and not heard, and if possible, not even seen. Parents of prey animals were like that.

"_Where _is Annabeth? She was supposed to be in charge, if I remember correctly," Soto snarled. He was sitting beside Gutt, doing that thing cats do when they lick their paw and use it as a facecloth. _There should be an actual verb for that, _thought Mia.

"She sprained her leg," replied James. "She should still be able to fight though; it'll be healed in a week or so."

"Good. Annabeth is a valuable asset to the team. Good fighting skills. However, we will need somebody who can actively interrogate the herd."

Gutt nodded in agreement. "I will think of an additional member while you continue. Jackson, what have you learned?" Jackson decided the floor was absolutely fascinating and stared at it as if it was a masterpiece of art. As far as Mia knew he had spent the day asleep and preying on the occasional chicken. Gutt nodded. "Alright then... Adsila?"

"Well, we know the teenagers spend a lot of time on the beach, so I dunno what you wanna do with them but you could, like, kidnap them, you were planning to do that, right?" Adsila spoke quickly, with quite a lot of commas. Teenagers do that. But still, Mia thought she might have heard some remorse in her friend's voice. Was she regretting this too? She was a pirate, though. She was used to this. Maybe it was just her imagination.

Soto nodded. "Yes. Yes we are. Good job. Mia?"

"I-I was with Adsila the whole time. We learned the same things."

The tiger grunted. "Alright. Try and spread out next time. You'll find out more." Mia nodded, feeling moderately useless. "So," he continued,"We need another spy. Let's see if we have any volunteers, shall we?"

They walked below deck. Almost everyone was awake. Gutt tapped his claws against the wall, making a resounding _click _noise. Everyone quietened down. "Alright, listen up," began Gutt. "Annabeth is currently injured. She is at the herd's camp, but we need someone else to follow the herd around and get more information. We have learned from James that they all wake up at different times and leave to forage. They arrive back at sunset, also at different times. However, I would like to now the specifics. Would anybody like to volunteer to be the new spy?"

Two hands went up. One was Cleo, a small striped wildcat from the North African region. The other was Roshan. Gutt peered at the others. "Nobody else?" Silence. "Alright then. You two shall fight. Winner spies."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. We don't need to go that far, do we? Cleo can spy." Roshan sat back down. Gutt yanked him back up by the collar of his large black coat.

"No. You volunteered. You will fight the cat."

"And if I don't want to fight the cat?"

"The cat fights _you_," cut in Cleo, dropping into a crouch, ready to spring and dig her claws into his face.

"Okay, okay!"

Roshan grabbed his spear, which had been sitting next to him. Just as he turned around, Cleo sprang. She was pushed aside by the spear. The tabby fell on her side, winded but not hurt.

She hissed, and, without warning jumped again, this time managing to dig her claws into Roshan's arm. He winced, but didn't falter as he deflected another pounce with the spear. Cleo twisted and landed on her feet. She used her speed to dodge a whack from the spear, running behind Roshan and springing at his back before he could register that she'd moved. She fell off, but not before she could dig her claws into his neck, drawing blood. It trickled into his fur coat. He scowled, tightening his grip on the spear. He swung it to the left. Cleo dodged right, as he had expected. Before she could make another move, he slammed the blunt end of the spear into her head. Cleo flopped onto the ice, knocked out. Roshan had won.

Gutt slowly clapped. "Well done. I must say, I was expecting you to lose that one." He looked around. "Well, we have our new spy. Sonoma, look after Cleo, we'll need her to be in peak condition for the battle. That goes for all of you. I want to see you all training tomorrow." A barely suppressed groan ran around the room, abruptly cut off by Gutt glaring at them.

The spies made their way up to the deck, walking down the gangplank and wading through the water. It was frigid. Mia could feel the cold seeping in, making her feet ache. She was glad to be back on land. They were walking down the sandy trail to the herd's caves when a dirt trail appeared in front of them. A head popped up from the ground, followed by a furry tan body. Louis stared up at the spies.

"Er... Hi. What've you been doing up so late?

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><p><strong>Yeah, bad ending, but hey, I got an ending! And a beginning! In fact, I wrote a chapter! So yeah, feedback is great. Review, please?<strong>


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